Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition Panel

Scott Shane

Veale Institute Fellow

Case Western Reserve University

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-shane-0597546/

Scott Shane, PhD,  is the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, Economics, at Case Western Reserve University. He is the Managing Director of Comeback Capital, an early stage venture fund investing across the Midwest. Dr. Shane has written extensively about entrepreneurship and innovation. His most recent book, entitled Is Entrepreneurship Dead??? (Yale University Press, 2018), debunks the myth of American entrepreneurship in decline. He has been an active angel investor, both individually and with the Northcoast Angel Fund, and a mentor and investor at several accelerators, including Acceleprise, gener8tor and Iconyc. He is also a deal flow partner at Right Side Capital Management, a San Francisco-based pre-seed stage venture fund. Dr. Shane is also a Veale Insitute Fellow.

Ája Hardy

Director

gBETA Cleveland

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajahardymbamph/

Ája Hardy has over a decade of experience in new product experimentation, business strategy & operations and Big 4 C-Suite facing consulting in the medical, consumer products, technology, e-commerce, and public sector industries. Her go-to-market expertise resulted in the development of several new ventures and leading those teams while at top organizations such as Abbott Laboratories- Human Genome Project and Leapfrog Patient Safety Council, Cerner- Cerner Math Inc. (Analytics) and Healthe, Deloitte- Value-Based Care Practice and ConvergeHealth, and Huron- Strategy Practice.

As the first FUSE Executive Fellow in Cleveland, she developed public/private partnerships with Google, Kiva, and Square before currently leading the gold-ranked venture accelerator gener8tor in the Cleveland area (Business Advisory, Marketing, Event Management, Bus Dev). Ája has an MPH from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, a MBA from UMKC Bloch School of Business and a B.S. Biology Pre-Med from Xavier University.

Ryan Cleary

Chief Operating Officer

FloatMe

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-p-cleary/

Ryan Cleary is the COO and co-founder of FloatMe. He leverages his expertise as a business owner, tech evangelist, and researcher to find efficiency opportunities and market gaps. With a career spanning sectors including Aerospace, Biotech, Business Consulting, Data Science, Education Innovation, Fin-tech, Smart City Technologies, and more he offers a unique perspective augmented by training in Design Thinking, Innovation Practices, and Management Expertise.

He is the head of development for a first-of-its kind Entrepreneurship Program designed for community college students with transferable content accessible to anyone. His business activities also encompass Innovation & Business Consulting, Economic Development Businesses, and serving as a Venture For America Fellow.